All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

The Fight of His Life

The Case

Hector Echavarria returns to play the reluctant fighter in another
MMA-oriented film sponsored by Tapout. Unsurprisingly it does nothing to advance
the genre, but those itching to see their favorite MMA fighters acting inside
the ring will be pleased to see their talents on display here.

Ringo Duran (Hector Echavarria, Death Warrior) is an
almost-over-the-hill fighter who, despite his considerable skills in the cage,
hasn't gone pro yet. He won't throw fights, and his honesty has put him in hock
to a bookie for twenty k. To help him out, some friend enter his name into a
contest aimed at finding the best undiscovered fighter. For Ringo it's a chance
to prove to himself that he's a good fighter and an opportunity to fix his
debt—but only if his honest approach to the ring doesn't get in the
way.

Unrivaled kind of rocks a Redbelt-meets-Bloodsport kind of
vibe, where a humble martial artist enters a tournament to save himself and his
friends. Ringo is just so darn wholesome and honest that he won't throw fits,
and that leads him to money troubles, including working two jobs to support his
sister. Of course when the big tournament comes around, he won't throw that,
either, which makes his life difficult and pushes his fighting abilities to the
max. Chances are if you're reading this that you've seen this story, and you've
seen it done better.

That's okay. Most fans know there's better martial arts movies out there,
and the real question is what goods Unrivaled delivers. Well, I can
certainly say that it goes two better than the last Tapout release I reviewed,
Death Warrior, in that it has actual fight scenes and character
development.

Death Warrior simply didn't deliver the goods: the fight scenes were
shot and choreographed to avoid showing any actual violence, which was a total
disappointment. Unrivaled corrects that mistake by actually filming the
carnage in the ring. The fight scenes are decently choreographed, and actual
blows appear to land. They aren't the most outrageous or interesting scenes in
the world, but they actually provide some contact for fans of MMA.

Unrivaled also tries to give Ringo an actual story. He's a humble,
honest fighter who wants to live the dream of being a champ but can't deal with
the grubby realities of professional sports. He's got a sister to take care of
an a young protégé to bring along. These elements, plus the
tournament, push the running time out to 108 minutes, which is a bit hefty for a
fight flick. However, the added character development—however
trite—actually gives the fights more impact.

Despite myself, Hector Echavarria is growing on me as an actor. He doesn't
have much range that I can see (since so far he's played a reluctant fighter and
a reluctant fighter in the films I've seen), but he just seems like such a nice
guy that I can't hate him for his sometimes wooden chops. He genuinely comes off
as a decent guy in this film, and it helps his character tremendously. The rest
of the cast do a decent, if stereotypical, job with their roles. Overall, the
acting was much better than I expected.

The folks behind Unrivaled know what fans want. This DVD starts
strong with good audiovisual presentation. The transfer is good, with strong
colors and no obvious compression problems despite the numerous darker scenes in
bars and cages. The audio does a fine job with the metal score and dialogue,
with an especially impressive low end. Extras start with a commentary featuring
the director and producer that covers the film's production. MMA fans get
interviews with Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, and Nate
Marquardt. Those who are interested in how the film got made can watch the three
featurettes. The first focuses on directing chase scenes, the second on the
fights, and the final one behind the scenes. The disc rounds out with promos and
a trailer gallery.

It won't do me much good to rage here about the film's inadequacies, but
suffice it to say that there's nothing groundbreaking about Unrivaled.
It's totally aimed at those with a penchant for MMA films. For them, this is a
solid DVD with a strong audiovisual presentation and some decent extras.

The Verdict

It's certainly rivaled by better fight films, but for fans of MMA
productions, Unrivaled is not guilty.